


The Unholy Book

by aeriamamaduck



Series: Cyrodiil's Child [7]
Category: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Blood and Injury, Injury Recovery, Scars, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4223988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minerva deals with the aftermath of the disaster at Lake Arrius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Unholy Book

Once again the precious heat from the sun was upon Minerva’s face, and her chest stopped aching from the sheer terror that she would never leave the shrine. She fell upon her hands and knees, wincing as the arrow in her side and stab wound in her hip flared with pain. She breathed erratically and summoned a healing spell in her hand. It was weak but enough to stop her from bleeding to death until she returned to Cloud Ruler Temple. The bruise along her lip and the sprain in her ankle were another matter.  
  
Worse was the pain of knowing she failed to retrieve the Amulet of Kings. It was  _so_  close, somehow dangling from Mankar Camoran’s gods damned neck, when he suddenly disappeared in a sphere of light to what he called ‘Paradise.’ Minerva’s stomach ached at the memory of standing helpless as the important artifact had slipped from her grasp. Hot tears of desperation stung her eyes, and her heaving, furious breaths caused her wounds to bleed again. Gods, her entire body hurt, and every step through that cavern was agony.  
  
 _I can’t stay here…_  Straightening, Minerva breathed deeply to calm herself as much as possible. Her father told her that calm was essential for things to go well in a desperate situation. Panic or fury would only make thinking straight more difficult, and it was bad enough that every breath made her wounds throb. She needed to return to Cloud Ruler Temple as quickly as possible and show the book to Martin. Camoran had it upon the altar from whence he spoke, so it had to be somehow connected to the Paradise he fled to.  
  
 _He has taken the Amulet with him. That means…the Dragonfires will remain unlit for a while yet, allowing more Oblivion Gates to open all over Tamriel._  Her stomach trembled with an icy feeling at the thought of having to go into those portals again, and face the constant sensation of ever-persistent death.   
  
The answer was simple: find Mankar Camoran, take back the Amulet, and give it to Martin to light the Dragonfires. The first thing Minerva had to do was get to her feet and climb onto her horse. She quickly shifted her weight and put her uninjured leg forward.   
  
Big mistake.  
  
She groaned in agony when all the weight fell on her injured leg anyway, and the bleeding began again. Quickly, Minerva used the healing spell again and pushed herself up, grabbing onto the nearest tree and leaning on it as she gritted her teeth and sweat dripped down her forehead.   
  
Tomasina neighed and cantered close to her, and Minerva winced at the thought of having to climb on to her back.  _I can…I can do this…_  
  
Her satchel nearly slid off her shoulder. Grabbing it, she caught sight of the book’s white cover. There was a mark upon it…Daedric script, perhaps? But why did it look so familiar? Minerva pulled it out of the satchel and examined the cover, the symbols lightly raised from the smooth surface in an inky black color.   
  
 _The Mysterium Xarxes. I ought to look inside. With any luck, it might give me a clue as to how to even begin to get to Mankar Camoran._  
  
She opened the hefty tome and her eyes fell upon its pages. Rows and circles of daedric script covered the leaves, indiscernible to her.  _What in the world…?_  She continued to look at them and flip the pages, trying to see if there was a hidden code like in the Commentaries.  _There has to be something…A map, a riddle, anything!_  
  
Her confusion rose as she scanned the pages, but…there was something else. The tips of her fingers tingled and began to feel numb. A sensation not unlike sheer exhaustion began to cloud her thoughts, and it felt like her eyelids ought to have felt extremely heavy. Instead her head seemed to…fall asleep, but her eyes were glued to the pages. She forgot all about the pain and suddenly everything was fine. Heaven was in these words. These words held everything good and wonderful and…  
  
The script glowed red.  
  
With a surge of terror, Minerva shut the book closed, sucking in gasping breaths as though something had wrapped its cold hands around her neck. She staggered, catching herself and writhing upright in agony again. She paled with a wave of nausea and grew dizzy.  _Stay on your feet. Stay on your feet, you stupid worm, and don’t even think about opening that book again!_  
  
Somehow by the grace of the Divines she made it up on Tomasina’s back, gasping in pain but managing to get in a sitting position. Minerva healed herself again, knowing it was only a matter of time before she weakened too much to even keep her head up.  _Come on, Minerva…You can pass out in the Temple…_  
  
She galloped west, each jostle sending agony through her, but she clenched her teeth and endured it. The pain kept Minerva’s mind off the experience with the book, which she kept buried in the satchel out of her sight.  
  
-  
  
Minerva made it to the Temple, galloping up the stairs and sliding off Tomasina and crying out when she landed on her feet.   
  
Jena, standing guard at the Temple doors, immediately rushed towards her. “Bladesister! Are you alright?” She froze upon seeing the blood along her side, running down her hip. “Talos’ breath, you’re bleeding!”  
  
The young woman held a hand up, the other clutching her side, “I’m alright…I need to speak to Martin. It’s important!”  
  
“Y-yes. My Lord is in his quarters. He’s just finished training with Pelagius…Do you have the Amulet?”  
  
“No…The situation’s worsened, I’m afraid, but there may be some hope yet.”  
  
With Jena’s help, Minerva made it to the east wing of the Temple and up the stairs to Martin’s quarters. She gave a choked cry when she nearly staggered again, and suddenly Martin was at the door.  
  
The priest paled when he saw her in that state. Without missing a beat he told Jena, “Bring her inside. Quickly.”  
  
Minerva smiled at Jena gratefully once she sat on the bench sitting against the wall, but her stomach flipped when she realized that she was inside the Emperor’s room. Martin made it worse by kneeling in front of her, and suddenly he was a priest again, prepared to heal and assist. He was unsure of his role as the Emperor, but it seemed that putting him in the role he played for years summoned his confidence. His eyes were resolute as he quickly glanced at the wounds on Minerva’s side and her hip.   
  
“Jena, stand by the door. I can take it from here.”  
  
“Yes, My Lord.”   
  
The Blade stepped out, sliding the screen door shut behind her, and Minerva found herself alone with the Emperor. He turned to her again and suddenly he looked unsure again. Clearing his throat he asked briskly, “How long ago were you wounded?”  
  
Minerva answered, embarrassed by the shake in her voice, “A few hours…I’ve been staving off bleeding too much with healing spells, but I’ve never been much good at them. The wounds won’t close and the pain is…substantial.”  
  
“I…” He paused to clear his throat. “I’ll treat your injuries. You’ll need to take your cuirass off, then. Just your cuirass is fine,” he added quickly.  
  
Minerva’s more practical side knew it would be necessary for him to have an unencumbered view of her injury. Her leather pants were torn at the area of the stab wound, so at least she would not have to remove those. Still, why did his request make heat rise in her face? “Y-yes, My Lord.”  
  
She unfastened the armor and let it slide off of her, leaving her only in the cotton chemise she wore to keep warm in the mountains. It was stained with blood on the right side. She raised it up her torso, stopping beneath her brassiere, revealing her waist.  
  
Minerva kept her gaze down, listening to Martin’s steady breathing. It sounded too steady, but his hand was sure when he placed it over the injury. She winced, hissing in pain and closing her eyes.   
  
Martin murmured softly, “Forgive me.” His hand rested on her side for a few moments, moving with her as she breathed in and out, the slightest whimper escaping her.   
  
But the man kept his hand in place and a second later it began to warm with healing magic. It shocked Minerva at first but she began to relax again, keeping her eyes closed and knowing her flesh was stitching itself together again. The pain was dissipating, replaced by soothing balm and warmth from Martin’s hand. Her tense muscles unclenched for the first time in hours, and she exhaled through her nose in relief. The spell felt so good, a far cry from the weak sparks she produced during her long ride back.   
  
The warmth remained, spreading through her body and trickling down to her leg, where the wound on her hip sealed itself together and the pain disappeared completely. Still, the magic remained, pulsating through her veins and wrapping around her heart like other fingers linking with hers. It was like the sensation when she read the book, but healthier and purer. She leaned into it, a blissful sigh leaving her lips and the corners of her mouth lifting in a smile. Her entire body pulsed with energy and  _life_ , and she let her hands slowly fall to her lap.  
  
The skin of her wrist touched Martin’s and suddenly his hand left her, taking the good feeling with it. Minerva’s eyes flew open and she was looking at Martin, whose eyes were on her face. His gaze was astonished and…very affected. There was a red tinge on his cheeks and his chest rose and fell with quick breaths.  
  
Minerva’s heart jumped when she suddenly realized her actions.  _Mara’s Breath, did I actually sigh like some dream-struck girl!?_  
  
Martin quickly got to his feet and cleared his throat, rubbing his temple with the hand that had been on Minerva’s waist. He saw the blood on it and quickly removed it, but he had not stained his forehead. “It looks like you’ll be fine, my friend,” he said with a smile that didn’t’ quite reach his eyes.  
  
She smoothed her shirt back into place as Martin cleaned his hands in a water basin. Touching her lip, she realized the bruise was still there, and moved her ankle just to feel it throb with pain. At least those injuries were not life-threatening.  
  
Martin finished cleaning up and turned to her again, a grim look on his face. “I can see you have bad news…You didn’t recover the Amulet, did you?”  
  
Shame flooded her cheeks and she shook her head dejectedly. “I am so sorry, my Lord.” Minerva explained what occurred in the Shrine, watching his face fall as the minutes passed. As soon as she finished she reached for the satchel at her feet and pulled out the Mysterium Xarxes, holding it up for Martin to see. “I did manage to retrieve this though. The Mysterium Xarxes. Camoran was reading it before he-”  
  
Martin only looked at the cover for a second before suddenly grabbing the book from Minerva’s hands, eyes wild with horror. He yelled, holding the book by the tips of his fingers, “By the Nine! Such a thing is dangerous even to handle!”   
  
Minerva gaped at him in surprise, never expecting him to raise his voice. He was always so soft spoken but when he saw the book in her hands he’d moved so quickly, as though it would burn her flesh. He still held it away from her, as though it would try to reach for her and strike.  
  
The man blinked and seemed to recover himself. Seeing the confusion in Minerva’s face, he relaxed slightly and explained, “Forgive me…You were right to bring it. But you’d better give it to me. I know some ways to protect myself from its evil power.”  
  
The young woman’s heart sank. “That’s why I brought it. I thought we may be able to find an answer inside of it so we might recover the Amulet, but if it’s as dangerous as you say…”  
  
He shook his head and held a hand up. “You don’t need to worry. You may be right, and the secret of how to open a portal to Camoran’s Paradise could lie within these pages. But I will need time. Tampering with dark secrets, even just reading them, can be very dangerous. I’ll have to proceed carefully.”  
  
Minerva did not doubt Martin could defend himself against dark magic, but the memory of the book’s hold on her still frightened her.  _What if it does overpower him? What will I do then?_


End file.
